Team Ireland Clubs, VDE Lurgan together with CM Lakelands VDE. CM Lakelands VDE Anglers, Steven Whyte, James O’Doherty, Michael Buchwalder, Robertas Zilaitis, Rimantas Kondrackas. Squad: Captain: Brenton Sweeney, 2nd Captain Paul Leese, Roger Baker

Local angling club amongst medals in world championships!

Local anglers were amongst the medals at the World Feeder Club Champions last weekend.

CM Lakelands VDE Club team claimed bronze the at the 6th World Feeder Fishing Championships held in County Monaghan.

The team had tied for the third position with 41 points but took medal on weight. Facing the best clubs from around the world, the CM Lakelands' performance is rightly regarded as a major coarse angling success.

A County Armagh team made it a double celebration and a first for Ireland with two podium spots. Consistency throughout the competition saw VDE Lurgan seal gold with 37 points. A single point behind were Germany’s Hansetipper Club who took silver with a great performance on day two.

County Monaghan was host to the 6th edition of the World Feeder fishing Championships for clubs played out on Lough Muckno at Castleblayney. Hosted by the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland, NCFFI the event presented the opportunity for two clubs to compete against some of the world’s top feeder anglers on home waters.

Twenty-Eight high profile angling clubs representing 18 nations and some of the world top feeder anglers arrived to Castleblayney to commence training on Monday, April 17 with the competition played out on Saturday and Sunday April 22-23.

The first day closed with VDE Lurgan leading, followed by Poland and CM Lakelands VDE in third position. Johnny Keith, Lurgan and Steven Whyte, CM Lakelands both won their sections. Day two saw the weather settle and Germany move into second position after a top performance by Jens Koshnick. A brilliant performance by Lurgan’s Johnny Keith saw him win his section for the second time for a perfect 2 points and James O’Doherty win his section for CM Lakelands.

The weeklong competition closed with the awards ceremony at the Iontas Theatre followed by a gala dinner at the Glencarn Hotel. It is estimated the event with over 2000 bed nights for the region has provided a welcome boost to the local economy estimated at €750k, whilst leaving a legacy for coarse angling tourism in the area.